262 
Part III. — Eighth Annual Report 
May Island, three females out of 16 fish examined, were ripe on October 
15th. At Smith Bank, on May 24th, of four males from 15 to 16 inches, 
three were ripe, the fourth, 7J inches long, was nearly half ripe ; of four 
females examined, one, eighteen inches long, was ripe ; and three from 15 J 
to 17 inches were nearly ripe. 
The ' Garland ' obtained pelagic ova apparently belonging to this 
fish, at Station IL (in Largo Bay), Firth of Forth, on May 7th in the sur- 
face-net ; and what Professor M'Intosh believes to be the larval stage of 
the lemon sole was obtained on the same day just beyond the mouth of 
the Firth of Forth. 
It appears therefore that while the lemon sole may spawn to a slight 
extent on the margin of the territorial waters, it spawns mainly offshore, 
as at Smith Bank, during May, June, and July, but mainly in June. 
Common Dabs (Pleuronectes limanda). — The number of specimens 
examined was 1124 ; about a third from the Firth of Forth. 
Territorial Waters. — In May, of 16 specimens examined, five females 
and one male were ripe, and two males nearly ripe at the mouth of the 
Firth of Forth j in June, of 35 specimens examined, two males (the largest 
9 inches and the smallest 7 \ inches) and one female, 7| inches, were ripe, 
and ten males nearly ripe. In July, of 46 specimens, one male was ripe 
and six nearly ripe. In August, of 32 specimens, four males were nearly 
ripe. In October, two males, out of 37 specimens, were nearly mature. 
In November, of 34 specimens, five males and one female were nearly 
ripe. In February, of eight specimens, one male was nearly ripe. In 
March, of 40 specimens, two males and two females were mature, and 
six males and eight females were nearly ripe. In April, of 27 specimens, 
three females and six males were ripe, and one female and two males 
nearly ripe. In May 1890, of 35 specimens examined, six females (8J- 
11 inches) and one male were fully ripe, and seven females and five males 
nearly mature. In St Andrews Bay, in June, of 40 specimens, one male 
and one female were ripe, and three males and four females nearly ripe. 
There were none ripe in August (42 specimens), October (46 specimens), 
or November (38 specimens). In March, of 30 specimens, five females 
and one male were ripe. In May, of 36 specimens, two females and five 
males were fully mature, and three females nearly mature. At the 
Aberdeen stations, one female, out of 28 specimens, was ripe in May 1889 ; 
none were ripe in May 1890. Thirty-nine specimens in September were 
all more or less immature. At the stations in the Moray Firth, of 49 
specimens examined in May, 1890, nine females and five males were 
mature. In June 1889, of 37 specimens, six females and five males were 
ripe. In July, of 38 specimens, three males, but no females, were 
mature. 
Offshore Grounds. — At Stations VIII. and IX., at the mouth of the Firth 
of Forth, of nine specimens, two females and one male were ripe in May 
1889. In June 1889, of thirteen specimens, nine males and four females 
were nearly ripe. In May 1890, of 43, none were ripe, and ouly one 
male nearly ripe. In July 1889, four males, of 8 examined, were mature. 
In August, one female, out of eleven, was ripe. In October and November 
none were mature. In February, of 8 specimens, one male was ripe, and 
one male and two females nearly ripe. In March one male was mature 
and three females nearly mature, of the specimens examined. In October 
at Liston Bank, of twenty-three specimens, none were mature, but several 
females seemed to be spent. At Smith Bank, in June and July, 1889, 
of 44 specimens, thirteen females were found mature ; and thirteen 
fern iles and two males nearly ripe. On February 5th, none of thirteen 
